The art of poetry

Memorial Junior High School recently hosted its annual Poetry Out Loud Recitation Contest.

Students participated in the contest, which encourages the nation’s youth to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation.

Poetry Out Loud was launched in high schools nationwide in 2006 and has grown to involve millions of students across the country. The program helps students in grades nine through 12 develop their public speaking skills as well as their self-confidence. Individual school winners advance to a regional competition, then a state competition, and ultimately to the national finals in Washington, D.C.

Ninth-grade students Ogo Chukwuma and Jeanine Nwade won the school contest. They will move on to the regional competition on Feb. 27 at CUNY Farmingdale.

In addition, separate poetry contests were held at the seventh- and eighth-grade level at the school. The following students were named winners for their respective grades: